The rise of pop-culture, headed by the British acts of Cliff Richard and The Beatles incited screaming, boy-crazed fanatical fans which were quickly categorised as the ‘norm’ behaviour for teenage girls. The presentation, while not especially positive or negative, was realistic, as it was developed by the teenage girls. They weren’t told to act that way, but their obsession for these musicians and subsequent excitement, bordering on the crazed, defined the way fans behave which continued into the present.

This relates to the Users and Gratification Theory, as the audience were active in their consumption of the media, e.g. the musicians, and wanted to engage, whether it was through listening to their music (Evidenced by The Beatles being the number 1 bestselling artists) and behaving obsessively and crazed when at their concerts.

The media could only report on the representations through the news and documentaries, which adds to the sense of realism.

The music industry influenced public perceptions of teenagers in a positive, or at least non-negative, way. Teenagers developed their own representation, The fan, on their own terms through listening to pop music and watching their favourites perform live concerts. This then transferred onto the big screen. One of the few examples of positive teenage-image promoting by film during this period is the Beatles’ film, “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964).

From this point of view, it could be argued that The Beatles and their producers/managers/agents, acted as Gatekeepers, key in the development of media representations.